The War Within 11.X Patches & World Soul Saga Speculation Thread

[Cheezits]

Dimensius and Azshara are the only ones who fit final boss territory for Void and Quelthalas unless they pull a switch on us and it is Darkhan. Maybe taking Xals place as a herald if she has "failed".

Azshara would be wasted this early.

[Joshuaj]

Dimensius and Azshara are the only ones who fit final boss territory for Void and Quelthalas unless they pull a switch on us and it is Darkhan.

Azshara would be wasted this early.

I think Azshara will be the mid expansion boss, similar to how she was in BFA. I really doubt she'll end up being the final boss of Midnight.

Dimensius is just perfect.

[Tiradon]

While K'aresh being the last patch is debatable, why do y'all think Dimensius might not be the big bad of Midnight?

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The vision in Prophets Lesson, the whole point of Renilash, and the very beginning of TWW hint at us having a final conflict with Dimensius.

I don't think we can draw any conclusions until we see the next patch and what happens there by the end... Nobody expected the post credits in Undermine patch either, but sure we knew we were going to fight something "purple" by the end of the expansion

[Cheezits]

I don't think we can draw any conclusions until we see the next patch and what happens there by the end... Nobody expected the post credits in Undermine patch either, but sure we knew we were going to fight something "purple" by the end of the expansion

Final boss has to be Xal, I don't think anything else would work. Maybe a Sylvanas-style struggle fight with her for the dark heart on Karesh.

[Khaza-R]

While K'aresh being the last patch is debatable, why do y'all think Dimensius might not be the big bad of Midnight?

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The vision in Prophets Lesson, the whole point of Renilash, and the very beginning of TWW hint at us having a final conflict with Dimensius.

I didn't say it wasn't going to be Dimensius.

But all they said is that the Void invades in 12.0 which is very ambigious. Dimensius might just be a plot device like Sargeras was in Legion and not actual a boss we face. Or maybe he's a red herring and some other Void Lord has been conspiring for Azeroth's worldsoul. Or maybe Azshara, LW or Xal used the Darkheart and take all his power.

There are several ways that can happen and further unfold.

[Tiradon]

Final boss has to be Xal, I don't think anything else would work. Maybe a Sylvanas-style struggle fight with her for the dark heart on Karesh.

Yeah I think this most likely will happen since we have't faced her yet.

But what if she is the boss until final phase or something along those lines, making her the "boss" and not ending up killing her after the Sylvanas riot, I doubt people wouldn't be banging on Blizzard door.

I do think we will fight her, but it will be with something in between in phases.. Or she is the boss before the final raid boss

[Joshuaj]

I didn't say it wasn't going to be Dimensius.

But all they said is that the Void invades in 12.0 which is very ambigious. Dimensius might just be a plot device like Sargeras was in Legion and not actual a boss we face. Or maybe he's a red herring and some other Void Lord has been conspiring for Azeroth's worldsoul. Or maybe Azshara, LW or Xal used the Darkheart and take all his power.

There are several ways that can happen and further unfold.

Sargeras was the big bad of Legion, we just didn't fight him ourselves.

Dimensius can be the big bad of Midnight, though whether or not we actually fight him is unknown.

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I don't think we can draw any conclusions until we see the next patch and what happens there by the end... Nobody expected the post credits in Undermine patch either, but sure we knew we were going to fight something "purple" by the end of the expansion

Tbf here, K'aresh appearing was shocking cause it's reveal wasn't built up, while Dimensius has been hinted at for the longest time now.

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Sargeras, Zovaal, and Dimensius. The Dark Trinity's been built up in some way.

By Dark Trinity, I don't mean "oh yeah, they're working together" lol. I mean that as in "these are the 3 Major Dark Lords of Warcraft".

[Darkarath]

Sargeras was the big bad of Legion, we just didn't fight him ourselves.

Dimensius can be the big bad of Midnight, though whether or not we actually fight him is unknown.

Dimensius is like Sargeras. Unless we fight an Avatar / Essence / Shard of Dimensius, he would crush us without noticing.

Tbf here, K'aresh appearing was shocking cause it's reveal wasn't built up, while Dimensius has been hinted at for the longest time now.

Not really. The Ethereals have been slowly but steadily built for years, definitively more than the Rootlands, which did not exist before TWW (actually, I don't even know if they have been mentioned in the game. Maybe they don't exist at all). But I agree that 11.1 end cinematic was not expected at all, at least not by me.

Sargeras, Zovaal, and Dimensius. The Dark Trinity's been built up in some way.

Zovaal built? I don't think so. There is a reason (or many) for being the most irrelevant and disliked villain of Warcraft.

[Cheezits]

Yeah I think this most likely will happen since we have't faced her yet.

But what if she is the boss until final phase or something along those lines, making her the "boss" and not ending up killing her after the Sylvanas riot, I doubt people wouldn't be banging on Blizzard door.

People were mad about Sylvanas for a lot of reasons. Not only have they spoiled that Xal will be in the whole saga, but I don't think people will mind Xal sticking around or winning a boss fight as she is a fun villain who faces setbacks and acts like a real person instead of megasmug Sylvy who always wins and never dies to the point people think there's a studio conspiracy going on.

Meanwhile Xal has constantly lost since the end of the launch campaign.

[Joshuaj]

Dimensius is like Sargeras. Unless we fight an Avatar / Essence / Shard of Dimensius, he would crush us without noticing.



Not really. The Ethereals have been slowly but steadily built for years, definitively more than the Rootlands, which did not exist before TWW (actually, I don't even know if they have been mentioned in the game. Maybe they don't exist at all). But I agree that 11.1 end cinematic was not expected at all, at least not by me.



Zovaal built? I don't think so. There is a reason (or many) for being the most irrelevant and disliked villain of Warcraft.

Battle for Azeroth hinted at him is what I mean. Ik the character himself wasn't planned in Wrath or anything like that.

Sargeras was a different case due to his size. But with current lore? You can easily make an excuse for us to fight him. Dimensius might not be nearly as big, and it's not like we haven't fought a Titan level being at full power before *Looks at Zovaal*

As for Dimensius being built up, he was in TBC, and tho they likely didn't fully realize it would be him, Blizzard did hint at us eventually fighting an all consuming darkness with the forces of the Light, either on Azeroth or elsewhere.

[Cheezits]

As for Dimensius being built up, he was in TBC, and tho they likely didn't fully realize it would be him, Blizzard did hint at us eventually fighting an all consuming darkness with the forces of the Light, either on Azeroth or elsewhere.

If next patch is Karesh it will be all about building him up as well as getting casuals up to speed on Ethereals.

Which is why it makes more sense for the patch to be Karesh instead of Rootlands with Dimensius being introduced in a midpatch cutscene or something.

[Joshuaj]

If next patch is Karesh it will be all about building him up as well as getting casuals up to speed on Ethereals.

This too, funny enough.

[Jolly Roger]

If every launch story is dealt with in 11.1.7, that just means Blizzard changed things to better fit with the Saga. I'm not crediting that fucker Kotick. Heck, Undermine basically exists to make fun of him without directly saying his name.

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Lol funny.

three things from that overpriced experience
1. the staff in the convention center suck diiiiick
2. metzen has/had anxiety about returning because he didnt think he could put on a show for the ppl like he did before
3. lower devs talk mad shit about the other teams

[Cheezits]

three things from that overpriced experience
1. the staff in the convention center suck diiiiick
2. metzen has/had anxiety about returning because he didnt think he could put on a show for the ppl like he did before
3. lower devs talk mad shit about the other teams

Did you hear anything about the rootlands debacle/end of expac shift?

[Pheraz]

If they want to stick to the "war within (the planet)" the name is the game scheme it's going to be rootlands and not karesh.
On the other hand this etheral with the dark heart cliff hanger scene could be a cliff hanger for the saga or for the last patch but then it's either a double plot with rootlands and karesh or they skip rootlands which would be weird since they portrait all heroes of the zones before and that troll elf female didn't really had their time to shine yet despite a bunch of quests. So I think next and last patch is rootlands/zone with that love tree

[Cheezits]

If they want to stick to the "war within (the planet)" the name is the game scheme it's going to be rootlands and not karesh.

Yeah but the cinematic and S3 tabard definitely point towards them ditching the entire point of the expansion.

[Scyth]

I am curious if we fight Xal at all in TWW, if the final raid ends up being Ethereal-themed as most are expecting now.

Two patches of her losing in some way, she needs a win and there is no way she doesn't get one this xpac as it would make her feel like a pretty silly villain otherwise. But curious if she gets that win without fighting us.

[Nightshade711]

If they want to stick to the "war within (the planet)" the name is the game scheme it's going to be rootlands and not karesh.
On the other hand this etheral with the dark heart cliff hanger scene could be a cliff hanger for the saga or for the last patch but then it's either a double plot with rootlands and karesh or they skip rootlands which would be weird since they portrait all heroes of the zones before and that troll elf female didn't really had their time to shine yet despite a bunch of quests. So I think next and last patch is rootlands/zone with that love tree

I mean - we do know fairly certainly (per datamining) that Season 3 will be Ethereal related because of the PvP items. That tied with the “ethereal raid” icons.

I personally no longer think we’re gonna deal with the rootlands in a major patch this expansion, if at all.

[Sondrelk]

I am curious if we fight Xal at all in TWW, if the final raid ends up being Ethereal-themed as most are expecting now.

Two patches of her losing in some way, she needs a win and there is no way she doesn't get one this xpac as it would make her feel like a pretty silly villain otherwise. But curious if she gets that win without fighting us.

Ethereals in the final raid seems to be a definite at this point. I doubt Xal'atath will be fought this expansion. She gives off the same whiff of "future hook" that Gul'dan did in WoD leading into Legion.
My guess is that Xal'atath will be the final boss of the first raid in Midnight once she has finished starting the conflict that takes us there.

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I mean - we do know fairly certainly (per datamining) that Season 3 will be Ethereal related because of the PvP items. That tied with the “ethereal raid” icons.

I personally no longer think we’re gonna deal with the rootlands in a major patch this expansion, if at all.

The Rootlands were basically already made though, as we could see it on the datamined developers maps way back in Alpha and Beta. Not using them seems like a waste.

The final raid will almost certainly be Ethereals. But that doesnt mean we need to go to K'aresh. Especially when, as has been mentioned many times before, it would feel like a major left turn in the expansion. Not to mention kinda undermining the whole "invading Quel'thalas" theme that will kick off Midnight. Hard to take the void threat seriously if we just came back from a major stronghold where the void were at their strongest.

If the Rootlands as a raid have been cut, then I would think it more likely that the final raid is the Beledar infested by Ethereals. And even then. The entire expansion has been about the Black Blood. It's the glue that holds all the plot points together. Would be odd if we never got a payoff to what the Black Blood really is, and why it's in Khaz'Algar to begin with.

[Cheezits]

I am curious if we fight Xal at all in TWW, if the final raid ends up being Ethereal-themed as most are expecting now.

Two patches of her losing in some way, she needs a win and there is no way she doesn't get one this xpac as it would make her feel like a pretty silly villain otherwise. But curious if she gets that win without fighting us.

I think it makes the most sense for the end of the expansion to be Alleria vs Xal vs Azir (or his master) as they all fight for the Dark Heart. Either Xal gets it back as the win at the end, or it blows up and the reaction causes Midnight to kick off.

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The final raid will almost certainly be Ethereals. But that doesnt mean we need to go to K'aresh. Especially when, as has been mentioned many times before, it would feel like a major left turn in the expansion. Not to mention kinda undermining the whole "invading Quel'thalas" theme that will kick off Midnight. Hard to take the void threat seriously if we just came back from a major stronghold where the void were at their strongest

Karesh is only a pivot if you know about the Rootlands from datamining, otherwise Orweyna and her adventures are a sideplot from launch that continues in Undermine.

The block blood is the main plot thread of questing... but they don't highlight it in the main cinematic story, not really IMO. If you only watch the cinematics you would think we are going to Karesh.

I'm thinking that Rootlands, however it was constructed, will be shelved for a later expansion as Elunahir is still relevant to the saga theme (Titans). But based on the Ethereals with sand on their clothes we are probably going somewhere with sand, and Karesh fits the bill. As does the S3 tabard, cinematic tease, and datamined models in general (I don't count the raid icon as b raiderhereal still could've just been for the raid boss that was an ethereal. But... if it pops up again in the next raid I will eat my hat)

Either the next big patch is underwhelming so they shared Karesh early, or we are going to Karesh. Both are possible.